The Mad Queen

Chapter Sixty-Six: The Capital

My father is asleep again. Lying in his bed looking peaceful though, from the look of his pale, bruised skin, I can tell the castle hasn't been kind to him. I gulp and kneel down next to him with a frown. I had always been told my father was very popular. Much like Kristoff, he was an excellent warrior, very charming and adored by most. So seeing him like this is very strange. I glance up as the door rattles. My father has locked it, unsurprisingly. My heart races as I wonder what cruelty Leander and his friends have in store. Leander was so cruel to him. How is he now my father's best friend?

I hear whispers outside and my father does too. He wakes up and looks at the rattling door. His body begins to shake as he curls his legs up to his chest. The door rattles again and he jumps, tears beginning to fall down his cheeks. The door thumps and shudders violently before there is a chuckle behind it.
"Come on Matty, let me in," Leander's smooth voice calls as my father jumps again.
"We just want to have a chat!" Another boy shouts. I am not sure who this boy is, but he seems to be Leander's second in command. I wonder who he grows up to be and why he is so irrelevant now. He seems to be even crueller than Leander, even with Leander being the leader.
"Don't make us break down the door Matty," he continues. My father is properly shaking now as the door rattles some more. He looks around frantically and jumps out of the bed. He runs to the wardrobe and opens it, but doesn't climb in. Instead, he goes to the window and opens it wide. With a gulp, he climbs outside. The window is on the same side of the castle that rises from the cliffs. The drop to the ground is enormous. My father carefully steps onto a small ledge and pulls the window mostly shut after him. He carefully tiptoes away from the window and presses himself right to the wall of the castle. His toes hang over the edge of the little ledge he stands on and his eyes are tightly shut as he takes quick deep breaths. He jumps again as the door bursts open with a huge thundering crash. I look back into the room, seeing Leander and his friends rush in. A cruel smile fills his features.
"Come on Matty, there is no need to hide from us. We just want a little chat about training," he says as he gestures to his friends to check under the bed and in the wardrobe. They open it but shrug when there is nothing inside.
"Perhaps he isn't here," one whispers.
"He is here somewhere," Leander grins as he notices the small crack where the window is slightly open. He smiles. "Clever boy," he chuckles as he walks to the window. He opens it slowly and my father's eyes widen as Leander pokes his head out and looks directly at him.
"Stargazing?' Leander chuckles. He moves in a snap, grabbing my father's arm and pulling him toward him. My father screams as he stumbles off the ledge. Leander catches his weight easily. Being that little bit older and bulkier than my father, he manages to take the weight of his fall with ease. He grips my father's arm and his friends having noticed what is happening, now hold Leander's waist so he doesn't tumble with him. My father screams and tries to hold onto Leander's arm with his other hand so he doesn't fall. Leander grins as if that is exactly what he wanted to happen. He let's go of my father. I gulp as my father slips. The hand he had placed onto Leander's only arm now the only thing keeping him from falling. He flails helplessly and tears are streaming down his face.
"Help me up!" he pleads frantically as his hand begins to lose grip. Leander chuckles as my father tries to grab his arm with his other hand. He moves his hand away. The only thing stopping my father from falling is his tight grip on Leander's arm. The cruel boy doesn't help in any other way than being the only thing for my father to clutch.
"Come on Matty, show us what you're made of," he chuckles. The boys all laugh behind him and my father screams again as his hand begins to slip.
"Leander Drake!" A voice booms behind him. The king appears behind Leander and looks at my father hanging from Leander's arm. He reaches around Leander and grabs my father by his shirt and hauls him up and back into the room with ease. My father collapses on the floor, shaking.
"He was stargazing and slipped, we were helping him back in," Leander shrugs. The King stands up straight and Leander shrinks from his glare.
"Out. Now," he snarls. "We will chat later," he snarls. Leander and his group leave quickly. The king leans down and takes my father's shaking hand and helps him up to sit on the bed. He sighs softly and looks at the crumpled, terrified boy.
"Come with me, boy," he sighs and leads my father from the room.